Match Analysis: SuperClásico | Análisis del partido: SuperClásico

Match Analysis: SuperClásico | Análisis del partido: SuperClásico

This week Chivas USA return home after a heartbreaking 1-1 draw against the New York Red Bulls, reigniting the West Coast- East Coast challenge. Chivas USA now look toward a rivalry a little closer to home – the SuperClásico. Although the Red-and-White haven’t fared well in the previous 28 derbies – winning four and drawing six – the Goats have a good shot at picking up the three points this time. It’s not going to be an easy task for either side. Chivas are a new team and have started the season strong, while the Galaxy have yet to find their rhythm.

Either way, the Galaxy are a strong and dangerous side, so the Red-and-White must stay on top of these three keys to win the first leg of the SuperClásico.

The first and most important factor will also be the hardest to accomplish: stop Landon Donovan and Robbie Keane.

Donovan, or the Goat Matador, always shows up for the SuperClásico. Landon has scored 11 goals and provided 14 assists in 28 regular-season games against Chivas. The question that rises is how to stop him? The good news for the Red-and-White is Donovan just returned from international duty with the U.S. Men’s National Team from a not-so-friendly game versus Mexico. The bad news is Donovan did not start the game and only played the last 30 minutes.

Either it was because of “poor training,” or lack of rhythm, as US Head Coach Jurgen Klinsmann put it, or because he was saving himself for Sunday’s match, Chivas USA will need all their resources to stop Donovan. The Goats will need to focus on three areas: 1) Eric Avila’s 1v1 defending, 2) Zavaleta covering Avila just in case Landon gets around and 3) the recovery of Mauro Rosales and Agustin Pelletieri to make Donovan deal with two or three Goats surrounding him.

I believe the most important piece to this puzzle is not letting Landon feel confident on the ball, and to get that, the Red-and-White players need to be tight and physical with him.

For me, Keane is a different type of player in MLS. He has shown over and over again his quality in front of goal and his ability to change the game. In their last league match, he made his goal against Real Salt Lake in their 1-1 tie look so easy and effortless. Keane doesn’t’ need a ton of chances to score, so Chivas USA will need to look at the center back pairing of Bocanegra and Zavaleta and make sure they are well rehearsed at closing Keane down.

In addition to those two, new Argentine signing Pelletieri needs to occupy the space that Keane likes to drift back into the midfield similar to what Kyle Beckerman of RSL did in their previous two meetings. Pelletieri will also need to look and double when Keane receives the ball against the two center backs.

The second key is going to be how both injury-plagued defenses handle each other’s attacking players.

As already mentioned, Donovan and Keane are going to be a handful but both Juninho and Marcelo Sarvas love to shoot from outside the box, while new signing Rob Friend is going to be a big presence in the box for crosses from Todd Dunivant and Stefan Ishizaki.

The Galaxy managed to outshoot RSL in their season opener, 27-9, in a game that LA eventually lost. Even if Galaxy Coach Bruce Arena opts for Samuel or Gyasi Zardes, you still will have a big presence in the box with Samuel and the speed from Zardes. Both Carlos Alvarez and Thomas McNamara are going to have to be diligent about marking Sarvas and Juninho, especially the closer they get to the goal.

On the flip side, Chivas USA have a new attacking look that has Erick “Cubo” Torres leading the league in goals with four tallies in four games. Mauro Rosales is another one that has proven to be an excellent signing. Not only has he provided leadership on and off the field but also his league-leading three assists.

The Galaxy back line has changed from game to game. And now with outside back James Riley out with an ACL injury, I expect AJ DeLaGarza to slide over to right back, where he played in the opening game against Salt Lake. This means that the center back pairing could be Leonardo and Omar Gonzalez. The question is whether or not Omar is going to feel the fatigue factor after traveling and playing the full game in the US-Mexico clash on Wednesday.

While I personally think Omar feels better next to DeLaGarza, making the pair a better center back for the Galaxy, I believe this is a perfect opportunity for the Red-and-White to be more adventurous and take on the opponent’s defense.

Finally, the third key to this game: set pieces.

Chivas USA need to make the most out of Rosales’ services and exploit the Galaxy’s defense on each situation. I am certain that last week’s stoppage-time equalizer off a corner kick by the Red Bulls was a heartbreaking wake-up call for the Red-and-White.

Depending on where the set piece is, the Galaxy will use Juninho, Keane or Donovan and will constantly look for Gonzalez as their main target. Just a few weeks ago, Gonzalez was able to flick the ball to Keane against Club Tijuana in a CONCACAF Champions League game. While defending set pieces, however, Gonzalez has shown he can get beat and fall asleep, as it happened Wednesday night on Rafa Marquez’s goal for Mexico and Alvaro Saborio’s goal for RSL. The tiniest details will matter in this game, and set pieces could prove to be the difference.

Don’t miss any of the first leg of the 2014 SuperClásico and get your tickets now by visiting www.cdchivasusa.com/tickets or calling 1-877-CHIVAS-1.